It's Christmas everywhere

Foreign students gather to celebrate Christmas

EVA VAN BURENStaff Writer

Published Sunday, December 24, 2000

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In any language, Christmas is a time for family and friends to gather together and share their blessings and joys. For Trudi and Lars Hellstrom, it is also a time to open their home to others and share the holiday spirit with high school students from other countries, some of whom have never celebrated Christmas.

Trudi Hellstrom is a member of Face the World Foundation, a non-profit organization out of San Rafael that brings foreign students to America and introduces them to the nation's culture and lifestyle. The students stay with American host families, attend local high schools and basically blend into the American culture, participating in school and local activities such as sports teams, debate teams and community service projects. One student, Hellstrom said, is even a member of the St. Augustine Community Chorus.

This year, 14 students from 12 different countries are staying with host families in St. Augustine. They attend school at Pedro Menendez High, St. Augustine High and St. Joseph Academy. Hellstrom and her husband are currently sponsoring two students in their home--Conrado Almeida from Brazil and Korn Khongphukphanya from Thailand. With her own children grown, Hellstrom is more than happy to have these young people lending their special personalities to her family.

''I'm shocked that more people don't open their houses to them,'' Hellstrom said. ''What we ask for everyone to do is to offer them a shared room with a member of the same sex, to feed them and to love them. They offer us so much more than we ever could offer them.''

click photo to enlarge

EACH STUDENT PROVIDED HOMEMADE Christmas foods inspired by the traditional holiday meals served in his or her native country.

By EVA VAN BUREN, staff

On Dec. 10, Hellstrom hosted an exchange student Christmas Traditions party at her home. Each student was assigned a name for a Secret Santa gift exchange and was asked to bring a traditional dish of holiday food from their country's culture.

Of course, not all students are from countries that have a Christmas holiday. In Thailand, according to Khongphukphanya, families celebrate the new year, but not Christmas. Another student, Koy Omoto, is also from a family that doesn't celebrate Christmas, though other families in his native country, Japan, do. Omoto's family, instead of having a traditional Christmas, marks the holidays with special Japanese foods, made with ingredients such as eggs, fish, soy sauce and wasabi. Omoto celebrated Christmas for the first time last year as an exchange student in Canada.

Though Christmas is not a universal holiday, there are definite similarities in the traditional celebrations of the countries that have it. During the party, Hellstrom asked each student to tell of a Christmas tradition of their homeland and it turned out many of the countries have celebrations that are very similar to those in America.

Yeon Kim said that in Korea they have Christmas, but their holiday food is different. Other than that, the traditions in Korea are similar to those in America. ''We talk about Santa Claus,'' he said. ''It's the same.''

Amy Joce described Christmas in England, where families leave a mince pie, a carrot and a glass of sherry out for Santa Claus. And there's almost no way Santa would miss her house on Christmas Eve--Joce's family home has seven chimneys.

In Brazil, said Karla Sena, Christmas is the same as it is in America except they celebrate in the middle of summer. According to Manuela Marinova, Bulgaria is another country that celebrates Christmas the same way. ''We have snow,'' she said. ''That's the difference!''

German Barretto, Venezuela, said that instead of hanging stockings, the kids put their shoes out for the Three Kings to fill with candy. Frederik Walber mentioned that children in Germany do that as well, but that the Christmas preparation doesn't start at the same time as in America.

''We don't get the tree as early,'' he said. Also, in Germany, people get their gifts on Dec. 21. In Poland, according to Premyslaw Owoc, the timeline is different as well, with the family meal being eaten a day early. Also, he said, in Poland people don't eat meat before Christmas.

Of course, the true meaning of Christmas lies deeper than the surface celebrations. In Slovenia, according to Luka Grzinic, the holidays are about spending time with loved ones. ''The main thing is to bring the whole family together and eat a meal,'' he said. ''We go to the cemetery and light a candle for our ancestors.''

Omar Akev said that in Russia a lot of Christmas time is spent outdoors, rather than inside by the fireplace, which is the typical ideal gathering spot.

''On the Christmas Day we usually are walking on the outside, going to the forest and different places,'' he said. Akev's family usually goes into the forest and makes a fire, sitting around it to eat their holiday meal. Not only id the Russian Christmas dinner location different from the typical American one, but Rudolph, the American Christmas icon, is non-existent. ''Our Santa Claus, he has dogs instead of deer,'' Akev said.

Following the telling of traditions, each student said 'Merry Christmas' to the group in his or her native language before opening their gifts. Afterward, the students enjoyed a sampling of the foods each one had prepared.

''Some of the students were on the phone with their families, getting recipes, really trying hard to make their dish,'' Hallstrom said. ''They really worked hard.''

Hallstrom is currently searching for host families to provide homes for 19 students who will arrive from China on Jan. 19.

The students are part of the Immersion Program, designed to introduce them to American culture. During their three-week stay, the students will attend English lessons, go sightseeing and visit Disney World, the Cape and other Florida attractions. Anyone interested in sponsoring one or more of these students should call Hallstrom at (904) 794-0191.